Sponsored by Chocolate Milk

From 400-meters on the ice rink to 140.6 miles in Kailua-Kona, world-champion speedskater Apolo Ohno is now embarking on a new journey. In what will be the biggest athletic challenge of his career, the most decorated U.S. winter athlete in history will attempt to tackle the IRONMAN World Championship triathlon in Kailua-Kona, Hawai'i this October.
 

“My training and recovery journey has officially started,” Ohno told Flotrack. “It's going to be a huge journey and process for me, not only to share with other people, but for my own personal well-being and my own goals.”
 

Ohno is participating in Mission Apolo: BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK to not only help him prepare for the grueling 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run, but document the process from start to finish. There will be a series of eight different webisodes showcasing the highs and lows of Ohno’s journey on gotchocolatemilk.com.
 

Though the race is still months away, the transition has been difficult for the eight-time gold medalist. While Ohno has trained his entire life “to use a maximum amount of power and explosiveness in a 40-second race,” he now finds himself at the other end of the physiological spectrum – an all-day endurance event.
 

“I’m really trying to nail down my heart rate and work within that aerobic range and not getting too high.”
 

While the intense training schedule has put Ohno’s body under a considerable amount of stress, his speedskating instincts are still prevalent in his IRONMAN training. When Ohno trains with his coach, eight-time IRONMAN World Champion Paula Newby-Fraser, she’s constantly reminding him to slow down.
 

“I have an alarm on my heart rate monitor on my watch that goes off if my heart rate goes too high. It lets me know that I need to back off and stay in that range.”
 

This isn’t the first time that Ohno has had to tell himself to slow down during his training. Back in 2011, Ohno took to the streets for the New York City Marathon. His finishing time of 3:25:14 beat his goal by nearly five minutes.
 

Ironically, after the marathon, Ohno told himself that he’d “never do another marathon,” let alone an IRONMAN.
 

Last year, however, Ohno watched Pittsburgh Steelers superstar Hines Ward compete at the IRONMAN World Championship as part of Team CHOCOLATE MILK and was inspired to take on the challenge himself. Ward, who was also coached by Newby-Fraser, finished in 13:08:15. Ohno spoke with Ward soon after.
 

“[Ward] said it was the most important, incredible feeling he'd ever felt in his life.

“To me, that was a very big indicator of and sign that this is a huge transformation and change in someone's life—Hines was an NFL superstar--who, like me, dedicated his life towards being the best athlete he could be in his own respective sport.
 

Ohno hopes to inspire and motivate people through the documentary series on gotchocolatemilk.com. The first webisode of the eight-part series can be seen here.
 

Mission Apolo: BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK may be in its early stages, but Ohno is well-aware of the road that lies ahead and the importance of good nutrition and recovery.
 

“For the past 20 years, recovery has been the number one element in my training because that’s where you rebound and how your body heals,” said Ohno. “Anyone can perform well for one workout, but to do it repeatedly is the difficult part. Recovery, with the help of chocolate milk, is what’s kept me in the game.
 

For years, Ohno has trusted chocolate milk as his post-workout recovery beverage because it has the right mix of protein and carbs scientifically shown to refuel exhausted muscles and help return them to peak potential. As he begins to ramp up his mileage and take on more two- and three-sport days, Ohno realizes that he must be equally meticulous with his rest as he is with his training.
 

“I really have to make sure I get adequate rest and taking all the necessary precautions in my training and treatment post-workouts.”
 

The IRONMAN World Championship will be held on October 11th, 2014. We’ll be following Ohno’s journey with Mission Apolo: BUILT WITH CHOCOLATE MILK